Chapter 13: Night Exploration of the Baobab Forest

Chapter 13: Night Exploration of the Breadfruit Grove

Moran was somewhat uncertain: "Senior Lilith, is this the Light spell?"

This spherical glowing energy mass, its color, and its radiance were all very similar to the Light spell.

Sometimes, when the magic lamps at home were forgotten to be recharged, Shana's mother would use this magic for illumination.

If Shana's mother's Light spell was like a candle flame, then Senior Lilith's was like a high-intensity LED lamp; the gap was simply too vast!

Even Shana's mother had said that her Light spell had already reached the beginner level!

"It is the Light spell," Lilith explained. "The quality of our mana as Witches is higher than the magical power of Witches, so driving magic is naturally more advantageous, and the effect is much stronger.

For us Witches, a Light spell of this level only requires a tiny bit of mana to be maintained for several hours.

Many peak-level Witches are reluctant to spend so much magical power just to maintain a Light spell!"

"Is the gap really that big?" Sylph asked.

"Of course! Mana is the highest quality energy discovered so far, belonging to Tier 1 energy. Even an Angel's Angelic Power, a Demon's Demonic Power, and a Dragon's Dragon Power are only considered Tier 2 abilities. As for magical power, it only ranks third.

A difference of one tier means a world of difference in quality, let alone a difference of two tiers," Lilith said.

"So, Witches even have an overwhelming advantage in energy hierarchy!" Moran gained a much deeper understanding of the power of Witches.

"That's the logic," Lilith said. "However, we still have our Talent Manifestations to develop, and those are voracious consumers of mana. Small spells like the Light spell are nothing, but for large-scale magic, we still have to use it sparingly and calculate carefully."

As they were speaking, several heavy clusters of fruit appeared on the trees within the range of the light ahead: "Look, those are the breadfruits!"

Moran and the others looked over.

True to their name, they were long and slender, with five or six hanging in a single cluster.

Aside from the green skin, they looked much like baguettes.

"The breadfruit trees are a species that Lady Tracy brought back from another realm, named because the ripe fruit emits the aroma of freshly baked bread.

Not only are they highly nutritious and filling, but they also have some energy-restoring effects.

Some Witches who have learned cooking will also harvest some when practicing magic to accelerate the recovery of their magical power.

They are easy to grow and have high yields, though the taste has some flaws.

Unfortunately, breadfruit trees are not adapted to the laws of the Valen Continent, so they are only found here at the Witch Academy; otherwise, no one in Valen would ever starve to death again," Lilith said.

Moran sensitively detected an anomaly in her senior's words: "Does the Witch Academy not belong to Valen?"

"That's right. The Academy is located within a demi-plane. It was traded from another world consciousness by Lady Carmella during her travels in the other realm, and the three Great Witches worked together to bring it back to Valen, hiding it near the wilderness.

The entire plane is completely under the control of the Witches.

It is said that beyond the outer perimeter of the Witch Academy lie the residences of the three Great Witches, though no little Witch has ever found them," Lilith said.

This news left Moran and the other two utterly shocked.

Only Witches could be so extravagant as to use an entire demi-plane to build a Witch Academy!

*Gurgle~*

Vasida's stomach provided a timely reminder, causing Lilith to stop her storytelling: "Alright, let's pick the fruit! There is only one way to eat breadfruit, which is to eat it raw. Never attempt to cook it; it will explode when exposed to high heat! While it won't cause serious injury, having yellow pulp explode all over your face is quite embarrassing."

Although the breadfruit trees were not particularly tall, the cluster before them was not something they could reach just by standing under the tree.

Lilith stood to the side holding her wand for light, showing no intention of helping them.

Moran and the others quickly distributed the tasks.

She and Sylph would climb the tree to pick the breadfruit; since they were already in a state of hunger, the weakened Vasida would stay below to catch them.

Fortunately, the breadfruit trees were easy to climb. Before long, Moran and Sylph had picked two clusters of breadfruit from the tree.

Eleven in total.

The smallest was twenty centimeters long, and the largest was half a meter long.

"Try some!" Moran handed the largest one to Vasida.

Senior Lilith had been teasing them, never telling them what the breadfruit actually tasted like.

Vasida did not stand on ceremony; she already felt that her hunger was becoming unbearable.

With one big bite, her face immediately crumpled into a knot.

With a distorted expression, she swallowed the piece: "Senior Lilith, is this really ripe? Why is it so sour and astringent!"

"It has already started emitting the fresh aroma of bread; there is no doubt it is ripe," Lilith said. "Although the texture is a bit sour, it has been tested and is harmless to teeth and the stomach. You can eat it with peace of mind; you'll get used to it if you eat more."

The famished Vasida: "..."

To fill her stomach with such sour and astringent fruit, given her large appetite, this was practically torture!

Curious about just how bad the breadfruit tasted, Moran and Sylph also picked small ones and took a bite.

Under the breadfruit tree, there were now two more little Witches with distorted expressions.

At this point, they felt some sympathy for Vasida.

With breadfruit like this, there was no telling how many Vasida would have to eat to feel full.

Since there was nothing else to eat, Vasida summoned her courage and began to gnaw on them bite by bite.

After finishing one breadfruit with a grimace, Vasida felt something and was somewhat pleasantly surprised

"The satiety from this breadfruit is actually quite good! I've only eaten one, but I feel as if I've eaten a whole basket of bread!"

"For a little Witch, one breadfruit a day is more than enough. It's likely the energy-restoring effect that is giving you an extra sense of fullness.

It seems my previous guess was correct; your Talent Manifestation is likely constantly absorbing the energy from the food you eat. The more energy-rich the food, the more it satisfies your needs," Lilith said.

Vasida nodded repeatedly, her gaze toward the breadfruit changing. If it was this convenient, she could accept a bad taste.

She summoned her courage to take another one, just as she was about to eat, when Moran spoke: "Vasida, isn't your Talent Manifestation a stomach sac? Since it's a stomach sac, it should be able to digest food directly, right? Can't you just put the breadfruit directly into the stomach sac to skip the eating step?"

Vasida was stunned. Having fallen into a state of hunger so frequently today had left her exhausted, leaving her with no energy to think deeply about her Talent Manifestation.

But thinking back now, her stomach sac could indeed hold things!

"I'll try!" She manifested her stomach sac again.

Once the stomach sac appeared, Vasida felt her body begin to feel hungry once more.

"Your mana is being consumed!" Lilith said.

Vasida nodded. The deficit in her mana caused the hunger in her body. Without delay, she quickly opened her stomach sac and stuffed the breadfruit in her hand inside.

(End of Chapter)